Douglas first became aware of Way Ahead after he spoke to someone at a closed AA meeting, who was at the time also receiving support from the service. Douglas then spoke with one of the mentors and explained he wanted to get back into work but felt as though his past was holding him back from being able to do so.
Douglas has experienced some setbacks in the past due to a history of abusing alcohol from the age of 12 and he was soon caught up in a cycle of using drugs. This then led to Douglas leaving home at a young age, after which he lived a transient lifestyle, often in and out of homelessness hostels. After a long time in denial about his addiction Douglas turned to the fellowship for support and he managed to maintain sobriety for several months, however was still using cannabis and other substances at this time.
Douglas then started to settle down and at this point things were getting better. He started a family with his partner but unfortunately had a relapse which saw him return to drinking daily again. He also started to abuse prescription drugs during this period of relapse. Douglas had tried rehabs and different recovery programmes but struggled to maintain sobriety for any length of time; until he had a near fatal accident which left him in a coma for 3 months.
After the accident Douglas suffered from depression and again used alcohol as a way of coping. Douglas then had a chance of going to south east community rehab, which he took advantage of and was able to turn his lifestyle around, saying that his motivation for this was his young family. After successfully detoxing Douglas then became heavily involved in Glasgow’s recovery community and maintained his sobriety. However, he felt as though his previous addiction and loss of confidence was now having a serious negative effect on him finding employment. It was at this point Douglas referred himself to Way Ahead.
Douglas and his mentor have worked together over the last 6 months, and throughout this time they have developed a mutually respective and professional relationship which has provided the platform for Douglas to achieve his identified future aims and objectives.
Our mentor has worked with Douglas to reflect and recognise the monumental changes he has made within his life and the positive impact this has on not only himself but his family and others he has come in contact with as part of the recovery communities. This new found belief along with the mentoring support and guidance has resulted in Douglas being successful in attaining full time paid employment within SDF (Scottish Drugs Forum) Glasgow and he is currently awaiting his start date for the role as Trainee Addiction Worker.
In the lead up to Douglas being successful for the post he utilised the Work Star Tool (Outcomes Star) with his mentor to devise his individualised developmental plans to identify and achieve his future goals. During his involvement with Way Ahead Douglas has been supported not only to maintain his abstinence but he has also been assisted and encouraged to succeed in what he wanted to do – gain employment within the social care sector. With the support of the service he has also devised his new CV, completed applications for various employment opportunities, been assisted to prepare for interviews and has been successful in seeking and attaining paid employment.
More importantly he has been encouraged and assisted to recognise and realise his own undoubted and unquestionable potential, which will in turn help him to assist others to do the same within his new role at the Scottish Drugs Forum.
